Furniture leg mounting



July 28, 1964 H. MUTCHNIK ETAL 3,142,467

FURNITURE LEG MOUNTING Filed April 5, 1963 L 5 WWW h 5 M 3 w x M "5.4 L T5 BY TTORNEY United States Patent 3,142,467 FURNITURE LEG MOUNTING Henry Mutchnik and Melvin Mutchnik, both of 5804 Gist Ave, Baltimore, Md.

Filed Apr. 5, 1963, Ser. No. 270,879 7 Claims. (Cl. 248-188) This invention relates to furniture leg mountings, and more particularly to sheet metal brackets designed to mount securely hollow tubular metal legs to furniture items.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a rugged metal bracket which may be stamped economically from sheet metal of suitable gauge, and which may be aflixed easily to the underside of furniture units for the purpose of providing aready means of interconnection therewith of tubular furniture legs which may be shipped in a knock-down state.

It is another object of the invention to provide a wedging connection between a sheet metal bracket and a metal furniture leg without need for any additional fastening elements therebetween.

The invention provides for a slidable interengagement of the end of a metallic furniture leg provided with specially formed recesses, slots or grooves, with the legreceiving portion of the bracket having specially formed retaining shoulders thereon, to enable a ready connection of the end of the leg with the bracket. The leg is then securely retained in place by bending a retaining lug on the bracket adjacent to the end of the leg, to preclude an accidental dislocation of the leg from the bracket.

Other objects and purposes will appear from the detailed description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the bracket in accordance with the invention and the interconnection therewith of a tubular metallic leg;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bracket in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line 5--5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing is shown a furniture item P which may be a table top, chair, stool, cabinet or any other item of furniture, to the underside of which is adapted to be affixed a tubular metallic leg L of cylindrical, conical or other geometric configuration, through the intermediary of a mounting bracket B which is stamped from sheet metal of any suitable gauge.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3,, the mounting bracket is formed with fastening portions 1 and 2 at the opposite ends thereof provided with openings 14 therein for the purpose of receiving screws 5 or other fastening means for afiixing the bracket to the underside of the piece of furniture. The intermediate portion 3 of the bracket is inclined with respect to the portions 1 and 2, and the plane surface thereof is disposed at such an inclination, for example, 12 to the horizontal, as to impart a corresponding inclination to the leg L from the vertical when the end of the leg is seated in close abutting relation to the plane surface of the intermediate portion 3. The angularity of the leg-receiving portion 3 may be produced by the elevated shelf 4 adjacent to the fastening portion 2, wherefrom the portion 3 slopes towards the fastening portion 1.

Shoulders 6 and 7 are stamped transversely from the intermediate portion 3 and are displaced from each other a distance slightly in excess of the external diameter of the end 10 of the leg to provide suflicient clearance for movement of the end of the leg as the same is advanced from the shelf end 4 of the leg-receiving portion 3. Flanges 8 and 9 are bent inwardly from shoulders 6 and 7, respectively, and these serve as guides and retainers for slots or recesses 12 and 13 which are channeled in diametrally opposed segments of the leg adjacent to the end ltl thereof.

While the recesses 12 and 13 have been shown as slotted recesses or apertures, the advantages of the invention may be realized if these'are grooves, indentations, or merely channels, in lieu of the slots as shown.

While the shoulders 6 and 7 are bent from the plane of the leg receiving portion 3 in directions perpendicular to the latter, the flanges 8 and 9 are disposed in a common plane and at a convergent angle with respect to the plane surface 3 from the shelf end 4 of the seating portion towards the opposite end which merges into the fastening portion 1.

The slots 12 and 13 are disposed in a plane having an angle of divergence relative to the advancing portion 16 of the tubular leg L as the same is slid from the end 4 of the leg-receiving portion towards the opposite end so that in effect a wedging action takes place between the convergently directed flanges 8 and 9 and the divergently directed recesses 12 and 13 of the tubular leg.

The angular segmental extent of the recesses 12 and 13 depends upon the width of the guiding and interengaging flanges 8 and 8. The wider these flanges, the greater must be the cuts 12 and 13 in order to accommodate the flanges therein. Segments of 45 to 60 have proven adequate to insure an effective guiding of the leg as the advancing element 16 of the leg L is moved from the shelf end 4 towards the fastening portion 1. g

In order to preclude any accidental displacement or disengagement of the leg from the bracket, an integral lug 15, coplanar with the seating portion 3, is stamped from an opening 18 in the bracket at the shelf end 4 thereof. The lug 15 permits the movement of the end 10 of the leg along the seating portion 3, and afterthe conclusion of the sliding movement, this lug is bent as shown in FIG. 1, adjacent to the hindmost element 17 of the tubular leg L. This assures a reliable interengagement of the leg with the bracket until such time as the detachment of the leg is desired. This may be effected by bending the lug 15 back into the position shown in FIG. 3, in order to permit =a rearward movement of the leg from the guide shoulders 6, 7 and flanges 8 and 9.

In certain instances, a vertical disposition of the legs with respect to the furniture item may be desired, and for this purpose metal brackets as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 are provided. The construction of the bracket is similar to that described above, except for the fact that the intermediate leg receiving portion 23 is offset from the fastening portions 1 and 2 in a plane parallel to the latter. Of course, the portion 23 may have any desired displacement from the underside of the furniture unit so long as the end 10 of the table leg L clears the heads of the fasteners 5 which serve to affix the bracket to the furniture unit F. In most instances the displacement is less than the maximum displacement of the intermediate portion when the same is inclined, for example, at the shelf end 4 of the embodiment described above. The consequence of this would be that the lug 25 would be of shorter length than the lug 15 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, but nevertheless the lug 25 is adequate for bending from the plane of the seating portion 23 in order to provide a stop for the leg L, to prevent the accidental retrograde movement thereof, as clearly shown in FIG. 4 of the drawing.

The slight inclination of convergence of the flanges 8 and 9 of the bracket, and the corresponding angle of divergence of slots 12 and 13 in the leg, are similar in this embodiment as that described above, and the interactions of the parts are identical.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with hollow tubular metal legs of cylindrical or substantially cylindrical outline, because of the maximum advantages accruing from these arrangements, such may be realized even when the legs are solid at the end thereof or throughout its length, as would be the case with wrought iron legs.

While we have described our invention as embodied in a specific form and as operating in a specific manner for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that We do not limit our invention thereto, since various modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is set forth in the annexed claims.

We claim:

1. A sheet metal bracket adapted to be affixed to the underside of a piece of furniture for connecting a hollow tubular metallic furniture leg thereto, said bracket comprising a portion for fastening the bracket to the piece of furniture and a leg-receiving portion, said last-mentioned portion having a plane surface for receiving the end of the tubular leg in close abutting relation thereto, opposed shoulders extending transversely from said plane surface and displaced from each other a distance slightly in excess of the external diameter of the tubular leg at said plane surface, inwardly directed flanges extending from the free ends of said shoulders and lying in a common plane disposed at a slight convergence to said plane surface, and said end of said leg adapted to have diametrally opposed segmental recesses at a divergent inclination with respect to said end and displaced therefrom a distance corresponding to the spacing of said flanges from said plane surface, said divergence conforming to said angle of convergence to permit said end of said leg to slide along said bracket while such flanges engage within said recesses to retain the end of said leg in close abutting relation with said plane surface.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 including a lug integral with said plane surface at the end thereof whereat said flanges have the maximum displacement therefrom, said lug adapted to be bent towards said flanges following the engagement of the flanges within the recesses adjacent to the end of the leg.

3. A sheet metal bracket adapted to be affixed to the underside of a piece of furniture for connecting a hollow tubular metallic furniture leg thereto, said bracket comprising end fastening portions and an intermediate legreceiving portion olfset outwardly therefrom, said lastmentioned portion having a plane surface for receiving the end of the tubular leg in close abutting relation thereto, opposed shoulders extending transversely from said plane surface and displaced from each other a distance slightly in excess of the external diameter of the tubular leg at said plane surface, inwardly directed flanges extending from the free ends of said shoulders and lying in a common plane disposed at a slight convergence to said plane surface, said end of said leg adapted to have diarnetrally opposed segmental recesses at a divergent inclination with respect to said end and displaced therefrom a distance corresponding to the spacing of said flanges from said plane surface, said divergence conforming to said angle of convergence to permit said end of said leg to slide along said bracket while such flanges engage within said recesses to retain the end of said leg in close abutting relation with said plane surface, and a lug integral with said plane surface adapted to be bent from the plane thereof adjacent to the hindmost portion of said end of said leg following the interengagement of the flanges of the bracket within the recesses of the leg.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said offset intermediate leg-receiving portion is disposed at an acute angle with respect to said fastening portions.

5. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said offset intermediate leg-receiving portion is disposed at an acute angle with respect to said fastening portions, and in the same direction as the convergence of the flanges with respect to said plane surface.

6. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said offset intermediate leg-receiving portion is disposed in a plane parallel to said fastening portions.

7. A sheet metal bracket adapted to be affixed to the underside of a piece of furniture for connecting a substantially cylindrical metallic furniture leg thereto, said bracket comprising end fastening portions and an intermediate leg-receiving portion olfset outwardly therefrom, said lastmentioned portion having a plane surface for receiving the end of the leg in close abutting relation thereto, opposed shoulders extending transversely from said plane surface and displaced from each other a distance slightly in excess of the external diameter of the leg at said plane surface, inwardly directed flanges extending from the free ends of said shoulders and lying in a common plane disposed at a slight convergence to said plane surface, said end of said leg adapted to have diarnetrally opposed channels at a divergent inclination with respect to said end and displaced therefrom a distance coresponding to the spacing of said flanges from said plane surface, said divergence conforming to said angle of convergence to permit said end of said leg to slide along said bracket while such flanges engage within said channels to retain the end of said leg in close abutting relation with said plane surface, and a lug integral with said plane surface adapted to be bent from the plane thereof adjacent to the hindmost portion of said end of said leg following the interengagement of the flanges of the bracket within the channels in the leg, to lock the end of the leg against retrograde movement and in close abutting relation to said plane surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A SHEET METAL BRACKET ADAPTED TO BE AFFIXED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF A PIECE OF FURNITURE FOR CONNECTING A HOLLOW TUBULAR METALLIC FURNITURE LEG THERETO, SAID BRACKET COMPRISING A PORTION FOR FASTENING THE BRACKET TO THE PIECE OF FURNITURE AND A LEG-RECEIVING PORTION, SAID LAST-MENTIONED PORTION HAVING A PLANE SURFACE FOR RECEIVING THE END OF THE TUBULAR LEG IN CLOSE ABUTTING RELATION THERETO, OPPOSED SHOULDERS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY FROM SAID PLANE SURFACE AND DISPLACED FROM EACH OTHER A DISTANCE SLIGHTLY IN EXCESS OF THE EXTERNAL DIAMETER OF THE TUBULAR LEG AT SAID PLANE SURFACE, INWARDLY DIRECTED FLANGES EXTENDING FROM THE FREE ENDS OF SAID SHOULDERS AND LYING IN A COMMON PLANE DISPOSED AT A SLIGHT CONVERGENCE TO SAID PLANE SURFACE, AND SAID END OF SAID LEG ADAPTED TO HAVE DIAMETRALLY OPPOSED SEGMENTAL RECESSES AT A DIVERGENT INCLINATION WITH RESPECT TO SAID END AND DISPLACED THEREFROM A DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE SPACING OF SAID FLANGES FROM SAID PLANE SURFACE, SAID DIVERGENCE CONFORMING TO SAID ANGLE OF CONVERGENCE TO PERMIT SAID END OF SAID LEG TO SLIDE ALONG SAID BRACKET WHILE SUCH FLANGES ENGAGE WITHIN SAID RECESSES TO RETAIN THE END OF SAID LEG IN CLOSE ABUTTING RELATION WITH SAID PLANE SURFACE. 